Best Albums of the 1980s

« View best albums of the 1970sView best albums of the 1990s »

Listed below are the best albums of the 1980s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 53,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

1980s decade summary

Year	Albums The number of albums from each year featuring in the greatest album charts.	Score Total rank score for each year (made up of the total rank score from all albums in that year)	Top Ranked Album The top ranked album from each year and where it ranks in the overall chart.
1980	2,125	194,235	Remain In Light (27th)by Talking Heads
1981	2,158	120,251	Moving Pictures (154th)by Rush
1982	2,132	148,045	Thriller (77th)by Michael Jackson
1983	2,130	135,660	Murmur (142nd)by R.E.M.
1984	2,140	171,122	Purple Rain (81st)by Prince And The Revolution
1985	2,140	143,855	Hounds Of Love (59th)by Kate Bush
1986	2,269	170,563	The Queen Is Dead (17th)by The Smiths
1987	2,469	162,412	The Joshua Tree (52nd)by U2
1988	2,563	151,915	Daydream Nation (69th)by Sonic Youth
1989	2,583	197,563	Doolittle (18th)by Pixies
Total	22,709	1,595,622

The best artists of the 1980s were The Smiths, Prince, Pixies, The Cure, Talking Heads, U2, Metallica, Kate Bush, R.E.M. and The Stone Roses.

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21.

Sign 'O' The Times

Prince

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

841 charts

Rank Score:

9,218

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

175

Average Rating:

81 (914 votes)

Comments:

22.

Ride The Lightning

Metallica

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

870 charts

Rank Score:

9,205

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

178

Average Rating:

84 (1,309 votes)

Comments:

23.

The Smiths

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

940 charts

Rank Score:

8,755

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

188

Average Rating:

83 (1,440 votes)

Comments:

24.

Born In The U.S.A.

Bruce Springsteen

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

883 charts

Rank Score:

8,241

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

200

Average Rating:

78 (1,294 votes)

Comments:

25.

Violent Femmes

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

876 charts

Rank Score:

8,229

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

201

Average Rating:

81 (972 votes)

Comments:

26.

Let It Be

The Replacements

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

804 charts

Rank Score:

7,869

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

215

Average Rating:

82 (909 votes)

Comments:

27.

Brothers In Arms

Dire Straits

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

833 charts

Rank Score:

7,723

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

219

Average Rating:

78 (1,141 votes)

Comments:

28.

Peter Gabriel

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

782 charts

Rank Score:

7,488

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

225

Average Rating:

80 (903 votes)

Comments:

29.

Paul's Boutique

Beastie Boys

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

839 charts

Rank Score:

7,216

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

239

Average Rating:

82 (1,009 votes)

Comments:

30.

It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

Public Enemy

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

820 charts

Rank Score:

7,036

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

247

Average Rating:

80 (973 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 3 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	117	12%
1981	122	12%
1982	111	11%
1983	96	10%
1984	102	10%
1985	80	8%
1986	95	10%
1987	86	9%
1988	93	9%
1989	98	10%

Artist	Albums	%

The Cure	10	1%
Rush	8	1%
Iron Maiden	8	1%
Depeche Mode	8	1%
R.E.M.	7	1%
Talking Heads	7	1%
U2	7	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	416	42%
	385	39%
	41	4%
	27	3%
	23	2%
	23	2%
	12	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	967	97%
Yes	33	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	977	98%
Yes	23	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	987	99%
Yes	13	1%

« View best albums of the 1970sView best albums of the 1990s »

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